Andrew casts judgement in criminal drama in Milton Keynes

Steve Mills

He might have had seven years playing a policeman on The Bill but actor Andrew Lancel will put his detective skills to the rest when he appears in a Ruth Rendell crime drama.

Best known for playing DI Neil Manson in the crime drama, he appears in an all star cast in A Judgement in Stone coming to Milton Keynes Theatre from Monday, July 24, to Saturday, July 29.

Eunice struggles to fit in. When she joins a wealthy family as their housekeeper, the very reason for her awkwardness, long hidden and deeply buried, leads inexorably to a terrible tale of murder in cold blood - on Valentine’s Day.

The story unravels a lifetime of deceit, despair and cover-ups which, when revealed, brings a shocking revelation almost as grizzly as murder itself.

Andrew said: “It’s been a long time since I played copper. But this was a show that ticked all of the right boxes for me. It almost doesn’t have a genre. It’s both a whodunnit and whydunnit and it is quite grizzly in places.

“But most importantly, it is a really good yarn and Ruth Rendell is a queen of the genre.

“It is a dark story as well and there’s a reason why her stories have sold so over well over the years. I heard the show described as a perfect nightmare and think that sums it up well.”

There’s also a real ensemble feel to the cast which features Blue’s Antony Costa and Shirley Ann Field, who got her first break after being chosen by Laurence Olivier for the film The Entertainer.

Andrew commented: “There’s a real mish mash of people who are coming at the show from different areas.

“It suits the tone of the show really well. They are all like my second family which is a lovely feeling.”